TW: Sexual Assault

“OK, the suspect is in the west side of the building at the vault. There are two more on the east side in the main reception,” Colin whispered, his voice easily picked up by his earpiece and coming through clearly to Nick in the control room.

“What about the hostages?” Nick asked, looking at the blueprint on one of the numerous screens in front of him of the bank, including a live feed of his team circling the bank from various angles.

“Two in the vault, ten more in the main reception area. None are alone,” Aaron replied.

Nick frowned at the blueprint, his mind reeling with the possibilities. If he made any mistakes then the criminals would open fire on the hostages.

“And we’ve confirmed that the attackers are all Alphas?” Nick asked.

“Yes,” Colt’s voice replied. “The scanner reading says they are all Alphas.”

Nick bit his lip, going through what he learned in class. With Alphas things got tricky. They were less hesitant and more prone to attack first and ask questions later. But at the same time they couldn’t leave them for too long. They might kill their hostages once they were done.

Taking a deep breath and hoping he was right, Nick finally gave his orders, “OK, A-team, you go in through the vents and stay on top of the vault entrance. Wait for my signal. B-team, align yourself with them on the east side and aim for the attackers. Make sure you have a clear shot.” His anxious mind made him blurt out, “And don’t forget to increase the power of your lasers so they go through the wall.”

“Roger that,” four voices replied. Nick exhaled deeply, hoping that he hadn’t just made a mistake and blown the whole thing.

“Wait, we have a problem! One of the attackers is approaching the hostages. It doesn’t look good.”

“Damn it!” Nick growled.

“We should take him out. Now,” Colt said.

“No you idiot. Not yet,” Nick yelled back.

“You’re wasting time. They could easily start killing off the hostages. I’m going in,” Colt said.

“No, wait for my signal!”

“He did it, he shot the attacker,” Aaron sounded resigned.

“I took my shot too, Nick. Sorry. I had a clear shot,” Haines said.

“A-team here, want us to take our shot?” Colin asked carefully.

Nick sighed, “Yeah, take the shot,” he replied wearily.

Frustrated, Nick turned off all the screens. In quick strides, he left the small room Captain Miller had put him in and walked over to the simulation chamber two floors up. By the time he got there, Miller was standing with Colt, Colin, Aaron, and Haines. And he did not look happy.

“Chambers, what the hell happened?”

“I’m sorry sir. Saunders disobeyed my orders,” Nick said through clenched teeth, his eyes boring into the ground.

“You keep using that excuse. It’s not gonna wash this time. If Saunders isn’t listening then you’re doing something wrong.”

Nick’s fists clenched tightly. It was all that stupid Beta’s fault. Every time Nick was in charge of commanding the team through a simulation Colt had to mess it up for him. He just never fucking listened! In his twenty-one years no one had ever challenged him and pushed his buttons as much as this Beta.

“Sir, if Saunders would just follow orders-”

“This isn’t about Saunders. I’ll deal with him. But you have to step up. If you hadn’t frozen when the situation changed and could think on your feet, then Saunders wouldn’t have had to step up and save your ass.”

Every instinct urged him to yell at Miller, at Colt, at everyone. It wasn’t fair that it took him a bit longer to figure things out. He was being meticulous is all. And having Colt the reckless on his team wasn’t helping.

“Sir, with all due respect. If Saunders doesn't feel he can trust my judgement then maybe he should be moved to another team.”

Miller sighed and Nick’s heart sank, “We’ve talked about this before. The teams are set from on high. I can’t change them.”

Nick mentally kicked himself. He knew why the Beta was on his team. As soon as his father found out that he was being bested by a Beta he’d requested, well demanded, that they put them on the same team. He said having the Beta with him would motivate him and challenge him to work harder, to prove he was better. So far, it wasn’t working. Which pissed his father off even more as he kept reminding Nick during their biweekly phone calls. He was probably going to call again as soon as he heard what happened today.

“Ten minutes to restart then Saunders you control the simulation.”

“Yes sir,” Colt replied, saluting Miller as he walked out.

As soon as Miller left the room Nick scowled at Colt, fury on full display. “You just couldn’t wait could you? I just needed a damn minute to think.”

“And while you took that damn minute we could have lost all the hostages,” Colt replied firmly.

The two glared at each other until Aaron stepped between them, “Come on guys. If Miller finds out you’re fighting again he’ll put you on kitchen duty for a month like last time. Or worse.”

Nick snorted derisively and went to the lockers against the wall, taking out the black uniforms for the simulations and putting one on. It was lightweight and had several pockets and holsters for various weapons and gadgets. It was a lot lighter and less complex than what the Hawk team actually wore on the field, but it was close enough that the Wolf team could experience what being out in the real world was like. The military figured some real life experience would help them make better judgments from the control rooms.

Ten minutes later, Miller flicked the switch and the hologram of the bank appeared. It took a few seconds for it to solidify enough for the four Alphas to actually approach it.

“OK, here’s your scenario boys,” Miller said. “A terrorist with a bomb has entered the bank. There are eight people inside. Go.”

As soon as Miller’s voice faded Colt’s appeared in their earpiece, his voice crisp. “Colin, where are the hostages?”

Colin held up his sensor and scanned the building. “Two are huddled under the desk, two under a table and one is with the terrorist opening the vault.”

“Aaron, what classes are the terrorist and the hostages? While he does that, Haines run a facial recognition on the terrorist.”

“The terrorist is an Alpha,” Aaron said after he also scanned the building. “The hostages include two Omegas under the table, the one at the vault is a Beta and the two under the table are an Omega and an Alpha.”

“Facial recognition says the terrorist is Manuel Roche. He’s thirty-five years old and has a history of violence. He’s already been in prison for attempted murder and attacking a police officer.”

Colt was silent for a few seconds and Nick could feel sweat dripping down his face. Colt always asked for all the info, something Nick didn’t fully do. But really, who cares what class the hostages are?

“What’s Roche's family situation?” Colt asked.

“Oh come on!” Nick exclaimed, “What does that matter?”

Haines ignored him amd answered, which irritated Nick further, “His father is an Alpha and the mother an Omega. The mother divorced the father years ago and Roche lived with his father.”

“Where’s the mother now?”

Nick rolled his eyes. The simulation was complete and would include Roche’s entire fictitious biography, but seriously, why ask so many details?

“She’s living in the same town. She visited Roche a lot when he was in prison but his father didn’t. I’m guessing that’s what you wanted to know.”

“Yup, exactly. Call the mom. Tell her the situation. Nick, set up a megaphone link into the bank. Colin, I want you at the east wall and make sure you’re in line with Roche in case this goes south. Don’t hesitate to shoot if he becomes erratic, but immobilize only. Stunning him won’t work through a wall that thick.”

Nick wanted to tell him to screw himself, that his method was ridiculous but Haines was already calling using the simulation program to talk to a computerized version of the mother. He rolled his eyes and moved around the building, aiming his gun at the wall nearest to the vault. He adjusted his settings to choose a voice amplifier and shot at the wall. He heard a tiny pop as the small device shot out of the gun and went through the wall. “Done.”

Suddenly, Colt’s voice was heard throughout the chamber coming from the tiny megaphone, “Mr Roche. This is the Heracles military. So far you haven’t killed anyone and we would prefer to take you, quietly. We contacted your mother and she is anxious to see you.”

The screen on the right side of the chamber flickered and everyone turned to look at the simulation playing out in the bank. Nick’s body was tense as he watched and heard Colt and the mother’s simulation talked Roche down until he finally agreed to turn himself in. Nick’s jaw clenched as he realized that once again, Colt had beaten him.

“Well, that was nicely done,” Miller said as he and Colt entered the room. “Debrief Saunders.”

“Yes sir. I knew with three Omegas in the room, three frightened Omegas, that as an Alpha, Roche would scent their fear which would already throw him off his game. Based on the character profile, it’s clear that Roche was close to his Omega mother and probably didn’t get along with his Alpha father. Another reason why he would be hesitant to attack with so many Omegas around, since they’d remind him of his mother. Considering his mother visited him in jail and was probably distraught every time, it made sense that if Roche knew how his mother felt he might be more willing to turn himself in and reduce the amount of time his mother would have to visit him in jail.”

“And if your plan didn’t work and he went berserk?”

“Then I would have had Colin shoot through the east wall. I had him positioned there so he had the best shot. And Colin is one of the best shots we have sir.”

Miller nodded his approval. “Well, that’s a wrap boys. Get yourself out of that gear and clean up.”

Twenty minutes later, Nick was walking back to the dorm that was on the opposite side from the Hawk buildings, still fuming. It wasn’t enough that the Beta ruined his simulation, but he kicked ass with his. The damn Beta bested him almost every time. It wasn’t fair! He was the Alpha!

Looking up, Nick saw Colt in front of him, alone. The others must have gone straight to dinner. Riding his rage, Nick stalked after Colt. He didn’t give himself time to think. As soon as they were out of sight of any windows, Nick grabbed Colt’s arm and hauled him behind the nearest building. He shoved Colt against the wall, feeling a stab of satisfaction when the Beta grunted from the impact.

“It must make you feel like such a big shot, besting us Alphas.”

Colt smirked, his eyes defiant as always, “Yup,” he said, popping the P for added effect.

Nick felt his anger flare and his grip tightened on Colt’s arms. He knew the Beta must be in pain since he was using all his Alpha strength but he didn’t even wince. That pissed Nick off even more. For the last year, he had bullied, insulted, and tried to trick Colt into leaving. But nothing was working. How could he get it through to the Beta that he didn’t belong here?

What he needed to do was break the Beta, break him so badly he never wanted to come back. Without thinking it through, Nick swooped down and kissed Colt. The Beta protested against his lips but Nick bit him, reminding the Beta who the Alpha is. To make sure his message was clear, he quickly moved to Colt’s neck and bit him, hard! The way an Alpha would mark an Omega. Which won’t affect Colt because he was just a Beta.  He pulled back, smirking when he saw Colt’s blood from his bite, relishing the look of defeat and shame he expected to see on Colt’s face. 

Instead, Colt looked- calm. His face and eyes completely emotionless. Nick froze, uncertain.

“If you’re going to do it, do it,” Colt said, sounding almost bored. “Just be quick about it. I have to go over my notes for tomorrow.”

Staring down at the unflinching Beta, Nick’s resolve shattered. He released Colt and stepped back, barely aware of the Beta walking away.

He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t break him. How was that possible? He was just a Beta. And a proud one at that. Having an Alpha force himself on him should have broken him completely. That’s just how Betas are. In some ways, they were even more fragile than Omegas. While Omegas kept on going, resigned to their roles, Betas didn’t have the same resilience. They resisted as long as they could, but eventually they broke. 

His brother did. Was Colt stronger than his brother? Was that possible? 

Slowly, Nick leaned back against the wall and slid down, laying his head on his knees and trying to come to terms with the fact that his perception of Betas was forever changed.